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Midgies ??

Hi all,

I posted a question on gone fishing, not sure wether the general chat see's them.
I was looking for something to repel midgies. My partner is highly allergic to them and comes out in big welts that just keep weeping. we have tried a few things but nothing seems to work. the other she covered herself with rid and they seemed to attack her more where the rid was.
Snakecatcher gave us a link to check out which was helpful but anymore info on these pesky little things would be greatly appreciated as i love camping but can't seem to get out anywhere.

Re: Midgies ??

Howzat
There has been a number of threads relating to this in recent months in regards to home made repelents.
I use a mixture of baby oil,metho, dettol,and citronella oil.
I would advise going to see a chemist and ask about the course of vitamin b you can go on.I know a few people that have been allergic to mozzies but after doing the course they didn't seem to bother them.
Cheers Dazza

Re: Midgies ??

Not sure what you mean by midgies, but in my neck of the woods, they are the pesky critters they chew you up in western queensland after rain. Sandflies are what chew you up on the coast. Either way they are similar noxious beasties.

Best bet with either is to avoid em. THey are generally to small for the standard things like a "fly veil" to be effective, so even if your wife dresses head to toe, they will still get her on the neck and head (just love midgies bites in the hair). If you talking the out west variety, just avoid going anywhere near water systems for the period 2 to 4 weeks after rain. I can remember spending weeks in high summer after rain in Longreach, sitting in the lounge room with a only my eyes sticking out from under a double bed sheet to avoid em.

If your talking the coastal variety, Deet based repellants are supposed to work, but your missus sounds the same as me, Deet is just tomato sauce for em! Luckily for me I am not allergic so I just moan and itch. I suggest breezy days, stay away from mangroves, dunes and leeward sides of headlands, sandflies make hard work of it in a breeze.

Re: Midgies ??

Bourbon sounds like the the other ingredient, for me that is haha......
i got told by someone that 1 cup metho, 1 cup applecider vinegar and 1 cap of dettol. What is applecider vinegar ? Anyway i have a few remedies i can try so hopefully something works as i am hanging to go to donnybrook fishing and camping. got a nice jew there last year and he has a brother i want to meet.
Thanks to everyone who gave me some suggestions, really appreciate it
cheers
Howzat

Re: Midgies ??

Hi i am heading to Burrum Heads in March with my family and the midges LOVE me and my 4yr old son!!
Just wondering if you ever found out a repelent that works?
Hope the fish are biting and the beers are cold!
Cheers

Re: Midgies ??

Hello to all,
in the creeks around Agnes they can get nasty, so we all were long pants, shirts, booties and hats. As far as repellents go, the winner by a country mile is a product by Avon called "Skin So Soft" . The original one, not the one with insect repellent in it. Don't miss any exposed areas, cause they'll get you. It stops the sand flies biting or as i was once told urinating on you. they land on you but you don't get stung. With Bushmans for back up for mozzies, the combo can work for an hour.
good luck
Agnesstyle

Re: Midgies ??

For round the campfire you can take lemon myrtle leaves, break them up and infuse in boiling water to help keep the bities away.

metho, eucalyptus and baby oil i have heard of also.

the best remedy for any sort of bite is from the chemist in a tube, called Eurax cream.. do not buy the lotion, it is not as effective.
I have used this on bee stings and it gets the itch out.
I also suffer from weepy welts from sandfly bites.. this will help to ease that.
Like the others say just keep experimenting with the metho, eucalyptus, baby oil and dettol in a spray bottle.

Hope you find something that works, there is nothing worse to spoil a weekend away than itchy bites &gt;